Residents: Off-roaders intruding on isolation
County, Apple Valley working on off-road vehicle ordinances to keep riders away from private property
Aaron J.H. Walker / Staff Photographer
By LEROY STANDISH/Staff Writer
APPLE VALLEY — Tired of life in Moreno Valley, Teron Brown bought acreage east of town in the Fairview Valley.
He was enchanted by the open skies, the rugged terrain and the isolation.
"I moved to get away from living the city life," Brown said as he leaned against a shovel and took a break from laying the foundations for a 4,100 square foot home within his 50 acres of property here. "I was tired of people living on top of me."
Now he's tired of motorcycle riders, quad riders, and four-wheel drive truck drivers zooming through his property.
"On Memorial Day weekend, from Friday to Monday it was ying, ying, ying, ying," he said. "Someone needs to begin patrolling around here."
San Bernardino County and the town of Apple Valley have been working on separate off-road vehicle ordinances designed to keep the riders in authorized areas and away from residential property. The town's ordinance could be coming before council by the end of this month. A similar measure in the county could be before the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors in late September. But the measures may not be the solution to all their woes.
Besides the noise, dust and private property intrusions of off-road vehicles, Brown and his neighbors say they have been revisited time and again by vandals and crooks. About six months ago Brown had a RV/mobile home stolen.
"They took the whole trailer," Brown said.
He has also had old cars, tools and building supplies swiped. "I'm well over $5,000 in loss," he said.
Neighbor Marvin Shenkin has lived in Fairview Valley, just off Oldenburg Road, for more than a decade. He has seen much of the vandalism and destruction first hand. He points to a neighbor's property where a double wide mobile home was gutted and destroyed. On another lot a neighbor placed an old train caboose, which was set on fire and destroyed two years ago.
"The people never came back to their property," he said. "They just gave up."
He blames the troubles on off-road vehicle riders that cruise through the desert leaving a trail of destruction with no fear of the law. "Nothing is enforced out here," Shenkin said. "They need to be out here enforcing the law."
Sheriff's Det.. Dale Jensen said because of the remote nature of the area, accessed only through a series of poorly marked dirt roads, police response is not going to be as timely here as for residents living in more populated areas.
"When you live in rural communities like that it does take us a while to get there sometimes — it is something that people need to deal with," Jensen said. "We are always going to respond."
Deputies responding to calls of off-roaders violating private property owner's rights in the future may have more ammunition, thanks to a proposed ordinance being discussed in community meetings currently being held throughout the county.
"The purpose really is to give residents and the county tools to address off-highway vehicle abuses that impact people's lives in the unincorporated areas," said Brad Mitzelfelt, First District Supervisor Bill Postmus' chief of staff. "This would just give the sheriff another tool if it is adopted, but it would give code enforcement a tool it currently doesn't have."
The proposal calls for riders to have permission from property owners to ride on private land, prohibits vehicles from disturbing the quiet of any neighborhood by noise, dust or fumes, and establishes fines of up to $1,000 or 90 days in jail.
The proposal has already been heard in municipal advisory committee meetings in Pinon Hills and Phelan. It will be heard June 20 in Wrightwood and on July 5 in Lucerne Valley.
Within Apple Valley there are areas that have become favorites for off-road enthusiasts, even though the areas are private property and are being used without authorization. "I think there are certain areas in town that are predisposed to be problem areas," said Diana McKeen, community services manager.
Councilman Rick Roelle said the town's ordinance, which is still being drafted, will attempt to address the same problems county residents are facing. The town's draft ordinance would allow town officials to post private property with signs signaling that off-road vehicle riding is illegal. It will also require riders to have written permission to ride on undeveloped land and easements within the town. And the ordinance would also allow residents to build tracks on their property with a permit from the planning department, Roelle said.
Shenkin said he is worried Apple Valley will only push more riders out his way. He said the dry bed of Reeves Lake, which is partly privately owned and partly public lands, according to the Bureau of Land Management, becomes a dust bowl full of riders on the weekends. "Your sending all the riders to me," he said. "That lake bed usually has 60 to 70 animals out there."
Off-road enthusiasts say they are not animals, but law abiding citizens. "We're just having fun in nature. It keeps kids like us out of trouble," said Tommy Payne, 20. He and two friends, all from Pomona, drive an hour to get here almost every weekend. On this weekend they were test driving a new truck they had recently finished building.
"I have been coming out here ever since I can remember," said Payne's friend Shawn Loughlin. In all that time he has never seen a private property sign or ever been told not to ride here.
"It's a natural high for us to be out here, for us to have fun," Loughlin said.
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